If You Coach or Parent Youth Athletes – You Must Watch This

By Joe Haefner

If you are serious about helping youth athletes turn into healthy adults from an emotional, psychological, and physical standpoint, you need to watch this video.

For any of you who have been with us since we started this newsletter in 2007, I’m sure the words spoken in this video are nothing new to you. However, it’s still a good reminder on how we should treat children in youth sports.

Here are some important messages from the video…

40 million play youth sports – 70% quit by 13 years old.

• For reasons that kids play sports, winning does not even make the top 10.
• Kids quit because they’re tired of getting yelled at.
• Kids quit because they’re afraid to make mistakes.
• Kids quit because of an emphasis on winning which leads to a lack of playing time.

In “competitive” youth sports, it’s not the kids who compete harder, it’s the adults.

Sports are supposed to be about kids playing, having fun, learning, making friendships, and learning how to solve problems on their own.

Players should be rewarded for hustle, hard work, and being a good teammate.

Kids aren’t becoming better. They’re becoming bitter.

Let your kids learn how to fail.

A child’s worst memory from youth sports is often the ride home.

If you get anything from this video… this is the most important part… Rather than trying to give advice after a game, simply say…

“I love watching you play.” And that’s it!

Related Resources:

What’s Wrong With Youth Basketball Leagues? (And Suggestions To Improve Them)

8 Secrets To Success & How They Relate To Youth Coaching / Parenting

Coaching Youth Basketball – Drills, Offense, Defense, Coaching Strategies, Practice Planning, and More